Hydraulically balanced seal



' pendent of the Patented Nov. 18, 1947 uNiTEDs'rA'r-Es PATENT ortica nYDnnUrlIcALLY nALANcED SEAL Paul N. Curry, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Application February 23, 1946, Serial No. 649,545

1 claim. (ol. ese-'1) This invention relates to a mechanical seal for a rotating shaft, and particularly to a type thereof wherein the pressure holding the rotating and the non-rotating sealing faces together is indepressure against which the seal is being maintained, whereby without disturbing the effectiveness of the seal, said first named pressure may be adjusted to a magnitude substantially less than said second named pressureand wear on said sealing and other advantages obtained.

Although prior to this time there has been introduced to the industry alarge number of different types of rotary mechanical seals, there has remained unsolved a number of problems connected therewith. Among the more important of these has been the problem of reducing the wear between the rotatingand the non-rotatingsealing faces inorder to impart longer life to the mechanism. Certain attempts have been made to solve this problem by'designing the seal parts to effect a balancing of pressures, but so far as I am aware the mechanisms so proposed are all somewhat complicated and hence are both expensive to construct and expensive to maintain.

There is a in the handling of hydrocarbons of low molecular weight, such as propane, at high pressures, such as over 200 pounds per square inch. Taking propane as an example it has been found that when it is being handled at a relatively high pressure by a centrifugal pump which is sealed by a seal of the type disclosed, for example, in U; S. Patent No. 2,247,505 to Kohler, a popping noise and eventual opening of the seal almost always occurs. This is believed to occur in the following manner. The' propane from time to time in the operation of .sealed equipment such as a pump will enter in minute quantities between the sealing faces. amount of friction existing between said faces generates suflicient heat to raise the temperature of the liquid propane to a point well beyond its critical temperature, whereby the propane vaporizes and exerts a pressure of from 600 to 680 pounds per long as this happens only with minute quantities of propane at any given instant the total force applied to the one, usually the rotating, sealing member is not enough to push it back from the lother sealing member suiliciently thereby to open `the seal, but it may,

and often does, permit small quantities -of gaseous propane vto escape from the pump.

faces accordingly minimized in the neighborhood square inch. So

these conditions for an indefinite period.y of time in a partially satisfactory manner, and only a popping noise will b e heard as gaseous propane escapes in small puffs. However at some point during the operation of such a seal, a suicient quantity of propane will work itself between the sealing faces of thel seal and be vaporized at the same instant to supply sufficient force to push back the rotating sealing member and thereby open the seal. .When stay open inasmuch as the force supplied by the springs normally backing said rotating sealing member is not sufficient to close the seal against the friction of the packing material sealing the rotating sealing member to the shaft. Thus the seal remains open and the pump must be shut down and disassembled in order again to close the seal. This obviously is a great inconvenience Y and in a large refinery where the shutting down further problem which has arisen i When this happens the great of one pump may, and often does, shut down a large unit in its ventirety the condition described is likewise a great expense. Further, the intermittent escape of propane to the atmosphere is a great fire hazard which cannot be permitted to exist in establishments such as refineries where large quantities of flammable materials are being handled.

' Accordingly, it hasfor a long time been imperative to develop a seal which would have a relatively small amount of friction existing be tween the rotating and non-rotating sealing faces in order to hold both the development of frictionalheat and wear to a minimum and, further, to provide a seal which would effectively resist the sudden application of an opening pressure, and yet which would be sufficiently yieldable to follow irregularities normally existing in conventional pumpA construction.

Accordingly, a major object of my invention has been to provide a seal of the type mentioned having a'relatively small amount of friction existing between the rotating and non-rotating sealing faces.

A further object of my invention has been to develop a seal of the typementioned which will effectively resist a suddenly applied opening pressure of high magnitude, but which-will yield as needed. to follow normal constructional Yirregularities existing in the seal itself and/or in the pump to which it is applied.

A further object of my invention is to provide a seal of the type aforesaid which will be composed of relatively few parts and in which'such parts will be relatively easy to fabricate and as- Thus the seal may operate under 5,5 semble.

aecomo A further object of my invention is to provide a seal as aforesaid which will be easy to install in operating position and which will be easy to remove and re-install.

A further object of my invention is to provide a seal as aforesaid which will operate Without requiring supplemental or auxiliary moving apparatus operating therewith.

Other objects and purposes of my invention will be apparent lto persons acquainted with equipment of this type upon examination of the accompanying drawings and reading of the following specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a central longitudinal section of my improved seal installed in place on a rotary shaft within a stuiilng box and also shows in central longitudinal section the pressure tank used therewith.

Figure 2 represents a transverse section taken on the line II-II of Figure 1.

My improved mechanism comprises in general a rotary seal having its rotating member fastened by suitable means iixediy to the shaft and having its non-rotating sealing member heldwithin the stufiing box gland and backed by an incompressi ble liquid under pressure. This liquidl communicates with a reservoir through a small oriflce which will in a short period of time pass a small quantity of liquid flowing from said gland to said orice but which in such a short period of time will not pass a large quantity This is utilized l to permit the non-rotating sealing member to move backwardly against the said liquid the small amount which is necessary to follow irregularities in the seal and/or pump construction, and to relieve pressure due to expansion on heating which may involve a greater movement but will do so only in a greater amount of time, but it prevents the non-rotating sealing member from moving backwardly against the said liquid the large amount in a short time necessary to enable said seal to open. Y

In the drawings there is shown a rotating shaft I extending through a stuiling box chamber 2 of the stumng box 3 associated with any appropriate piece of equipment, such as any kind of rotary pump. Hereinafter, a pump will be assumed as the equipment concerned although it is to be clearly understood that this is illustrative only and not limiting. A gland 4 closes the end of the stufiing box chamber. A gasket 5 will normally be interposed between said gland and the outer face of said stufling box, and any conventional means (not shown) may be utilized for holding tightly together the assembly of gland, gasket and stufling box. It should be' understood thatv are shown they are repto the extent these parts resented schematically, and should be taken to indicate any form of stuiiing box or other housing, having therein a rotating shaft and closed by a gland held in place means whatever.

Surrounding the shaft within the stuiiing box is the rotating sealing member 6 comprising a ring of any material usual for this purpose, as steel,

ISOA

by any form of holding surrounding the shaft with suiiicient clearance therefrom to be easily moved into position. At the inward end of said ring is an annular undercut I into whichis inserted a packing 8. This packing is shown as acupring, but it may be any form of conventional packing which will provide a secure seal ag'ainst the passage of liquid between the inner surface of the ring 6 and the outer surface of the shaft I. This cupring, or other packing, may be made of any material convenient for that purpose but it will normally be the packing material which is best resistant to corrosion from the particular liquid being handled within the pump. As specific examples I have in various applications advantageously used such rings made.l from rubber, from a product known as "Saran made by the w Chemical Company, and a product known as Teilon manufactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.

This rotating sealing member is iixedly secured to the shaft by a set screw 9 threadedly held within-a radial opening I0. A further packing II is placed into said opening I0 and held in place by a second set screw I2.

The sealing face I3 of the rotating sealing member S is advantageously cooled by cutting into said ring a relatively deep channel I4, a short distance behind said sealing face. The exact depth of said channell and the distance it is to be spaced from the sealing face i3 will depend upon the material from' which the rotating seal- ;ing member 6 is made and the amount oi' pres- .sealing face I3 sho'uld not be distorted back away from the opposed non-rotating sealing face.

In the gland 4 there is provided a central opening I5 for receiving the non-rotating sealing member I6 and the parts associated therewith. Said opening I5 is of suilicient size to provide an annular chamber of substantial Width surrounding the shaft I. An annular recess I 'I is provided in the wall of said opening I5 at the end thereof adjacent the stuilng box chamber 2. A plurality, here six, pin receiving openings I8 are provided in the gland 4 at the bottom of said annular opening I5. Passageways I 9 and 20 are provided from the exterior of said gland 4 to opposite sides of the opening I5. Through these passageways a. cooling liquid may circulate under pressure if desired, but normally a static pressure without rcooling circulation will be sufilcient so that in the drawing the outer end of the passageway 20 is shown as closed by a plug 2 I. l

Within the gland as above described there is also provided a further central opening 22 extending from the bottom of the central opening I 5 through the rest of the smaller manner, such as by pressing, a shell 23 tightly engaging the walls of said opening 22 but clearing the surface of shaft I by an easy running clearance. Within the annular chamber thus defined between the walls of the opening I5 and the radially outward wall of the shell 23 there is inserted a packing 24, which is here therefrom a distance suiilcient to provide the backing pressure chamber lili. This cupring may, like the cupring 8, be made of any convenient material providing only it will aiford a tight sealing surfaces of the gland 4 and the shell 23.

Likewise within said annular chamber is snugly respect to the gland 14. A further'cupring 26, or

vides resilient urgingofsaid valve toward the positioned the non-rotating sealing ringj I5. This other suitable packing, is placed inthe recess Il Y and is fitted thereinto suilloiently tightly to prevent liquid being handled by the pump and withl5 ing the stuffing box from passing between the non-rotating sealing member I6 and the wall of the opening I5 in the gland 4. This cupring or other packing will' usually be made of the same material as the cupring,V or other packing, 8, inasmuch as. the same service will be required in each case. AThe non-rotatingsealing member is thus held floatingly with respect to the gland 4l and, since it can slide with respect to the packing and the cupring 24 can slide with respect to 25- the walls of the annular opening I5, said non-rotating sealing member and the associated cupring 24 can have limited axial movement. f

Connected to the passageway I 9 through a suitable conduit` 21 is the pressure tank 28. This tank is. constructed in suflicient strength to withstand whatever internal pressure is required to impose the hereinafter described backing pressure onto the seal. The conduit 21 communicates with the pressure chamber 29 within said tank through and past the check valve 30. `For this purpose the conduit 21 is suitably fitted into a cap 3I which is threadedly engaged with one end `of the pressure tank 28. A suitable gasket 32 is provided to insure against leakage of pressure fluid froml the pressure tank at this point. The partition 33 isJ spaced a short distance from the inward surface of the cap 3| and denes therewith an intermediate chamber 34 communicating .with the pressure chamber 29 through a valve opening 35 in said partition. The valve 30 has a body part 36 extending through said openin-g 35 and a stop part 31 backing a relatively soft seat engaging member 38. A narrow passageway 41 extends longitudinally through-said valve body, of such size as to constitute a substantial restriction in the passageway from the conduit 21 to the pressure chamber 29. vWhen the valve is closed this seat engaging member 38 engages the lower surface 39 of the partition 33 as a valve seat to close said valve and prevent passage of `fluid from the intermediate chamber 34 to the pressure chamber 29 excepting through said passageway. The spring 4U held in place by a suitable boss 4I provalve seat.

Ari opening 42 is provided through a side of the pressure tank 28 and therein is ailixed in a liquid tight manner any convenient means for injecting pressure fluid into the pressure chamber 29 under a selected pressure. This may be by a separate pump, a connection to the discharge line of the pump being sealed, a grease gun, static line or other convenientmeans. A 'check valvev 43 backed by a suitable spring 44 may be supplied if 70 said pressure source is not continuous. In the construction here shown it is not necessary that 'such pressure source be continuous and hence it will be normally applied only with sufficient frequency to keep the mechanism in satisfactory vdraulic uid may then befdisconnected and reoperating condition. If desired, a pressure indicator (not shown) may be applied at some convenient point on the pressure tank 28 communif eating with the interior thereof, or it may be applied at the end of the passageway 2|! by being inserted into the place shown in the drawing as occupied bythe plug 2 I.

The parts are assembled in the following man-1 ner: The rotating sealing ring 5 with the packing 8 in position is placed over the end of the shaft I and pushed into thedesired position on the shaft.

, The set screw 9 is then tightened down against vdepend upon the construction of the pump and may require the liftingof one-half of the pump casing in a horizontally split pump, the lateral pulling of the shaft in the case of a vertically split pump, or in somecases it will be possible to tighten the set screws by inserting into the stuffing box from the open end thereofan L-shaped tool capable ofl suitable engagement with said set screws for tightening of same.

The gland is assembled by pressing the shell 28 into the opening 22. If a tight press-llt is provided no further engaging means will be necessary. I'I'he holding pins 25 are similarly pressed into suitable openings within the non-rotating sealing member I5, the cupring 24 placed onto said pins inposition against said nonfrotating sealing `member and the whole inserted into the annularchamber formed between the shell 23 and the wall of the opening I5, with the holding pins 25 received in thepin openings I8.- Tvhe said pins are of such length and the positioning of the nonthe opening I5 to assure the maintenance of the chamber 4 5 therein. The cupring 28 may then be put in place around the non-rotating sealing m'emberll and within the opening I1.

by whatever means are provided (not here shown).

Care must be taken that all adjustments are `such that when the gland is tightened into place the sealing face I3 of the rotating sealing member IiA andthe sealing face 45 of the non-rotating sealing member I6 contact each other rmly but that no undue pressure is placed thereon. This, if reasonable care is taken, is easy to accomplish. vThe non-rotating sealing assembly is as abovev indicated placed so that the pins do not contact the bottoms of their respective receiving openings I8. Thus as the gland is tightened into place and the non-rotating. sealing member I6 is urged against the rotating sealing member 6 it will within its constructional limits be moved backwardly (rightwardly as appearing in the drawing) asl the gland is tightened.

With the plug 2| removed to vent air, a nonl compressible liquid, such as water or oil, is inserted past the check valve 43. As soon as the chamber 45 is lled, the plug 2| will be replaced and the introduction ofV said hydraulic iiuid continued under pressure until the desired pressure within the system is reached. The source of hy- #7 main disconnected except for occasional servicing to maintain the selected pressure. Air trapped in the pressure dome 48 will serve to hold the liquid under a steadynesilient pressure.

In operation it will be observed that there are no areas upon which Ithe pressure maintained within the pump can be imposed to transfer such pressure onto the contacting sealing faces I3 and 46. The pressure acting against the inward end of the rotating sealing member 6 is held firmly by the set screw 9. Pressure acting within the channel I4 acts equally in both directions. Hence, the pressure needed within the hydraulic chamber 45 is only that necessary-to hold the sealing faces I3 and 46 together with suilicient tightness to prevent the penetration between the said faces of the iluid within the stuiilng box. While this pressure may in some cases be substantial, it will normally be much less than where it is necessary also to resist the operating pressure of the pump.

'As a specific example, illustrative but not limit- K ing, approximately 100 pounds per square inch pressure within the backing chamber 45 will be sufllcient to hold a successful seal against propane at a stuffing box pressure of 250 pounds per square inch. Where the material being pumped is of higher molecular weight, as in the case of lubrieating oil or evengasoline, the backing pressure may be still less.

As the shaft I rotates and the rotating sealing member 6 rotates with it the non-rotating sealing member I6 will experience slight intermittent movements ina direction axiahof said shaft I following irregularities in the balancing of said shaft and variations from exact perpendicularity of the sealing faces I3 and 46 with respect to the axis of the shaft. This movement will be slight, but is inevitable, and the displacement of hydraulic iluidfrom the chamber 45 caused thereby will readily pass through the small opening 41 provided through the body part 36 of the valve 30. As the seal parts heat and expand and the non-rotating member I6, together with the cupring 24, accordingly moves backwardly against the backing fluid, said fluid will similarly move back through the small passageway 4l into the pressure chamber 29 and thus prevent the creation of excess pressure within the chamber 45 or on the seal faces.

However, when a quantity of pump liquid such as propane penetrates between the sealing faces, is heated to its critical temperature and vaporizes,

` 8 weight, such as propane, between the faces of the seals.

The' pressure of the fluid in the chamber 45 will, of course, be sufficient to push the non-rotating sealing member I6 forward to compensate for wear through the normal life of the sealing parts. The elastic gas under pressure in the pressure dome 48 will hold a. resilient pressure on the pressure liquid and hold it substantially steady throughout the norma1 operation of the seal. Only occasional injections of additional pressure liquid will ordinarily be kneeded to maintain proper pressure. v

Accordingly. I have disclosed a seal construction meeting the objects and purposes above outlined. This seal is believed to employ substantially diierent principles from seals known prior hereto, so that, -although numerous variations from the specic design herein shown for illustrative purposes may be made, such variations will all fall within the scope of my hereinafter appended claim excepting as said claim expressly provide otherwise.

I claim:

A mechanical seal for sealing an `opening in a housing through which passes a rotatable shaft, comprising; a rotating sealing member held fixedly with respect to said shaft and having a sealing face at one end thereof; means preventing the passage of liquid between said rotating sealing member and said shaft; a gland closing said opening and having a central opening therein through which said shaft extends, a part of said central opening in said gland being of substantially greater diameter than another part; a' cylindrical shell within the smaller of said two por tions of said central opening, surrounding said shaft and providing in cooperation with the walls of the larger portion of said central opening an annular chamber; an annularv non-rotating seal-l ing member within said-annular chamber; an annular packing member within said annular chamber abutting the end of said non-rotating sealing member inwardly of said annular chamber;

l a plurality of pins associated with said non-roy tating sealing member and said gland holding so that there is suddenly imposed a pressure of' approximately 650 pounds per square inch against the sealing face 46 tending to push the nonrotating sealing member I6 in a direction appearing as rightward in the drawing, which pressure in ordinary installation may often provide a total force of several hundred pounds, the non-rotating sealing member I6 will tend to move backwardly against the hydraulic liquid within the chamber 45 so rapidly that the liquid cannot pass the non-rotating sealing member against rotation 'with respect to said gland but permitting movement in -a direction substantially axial of said shaft; said annular packing member be ing spaced from the 4bottom of said annular chamber whereby to define a backing chamber at the bottom of said annular chamber adapted for receiving a pressure fluid; means preventing the passage of fluid from within said housing between said non-rotating sealing member and said gland;

a pressure fluid within said backing chamber and elastic means imposing a resilient pressure upon said uid.

PAUL N. CURRY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,097,074 Bennett;r May 19, 1915 2,023,206 Olson Dec. 3, 1935 2,128,744 Hornschuch Aug. 30, 1938 2,297,302 Hornschuch Sept. 29, 1942 2,365,046 Bottomley Dec. 12, 1944 

